Harwood Plumbing & Heating

Meet Adam Harwood, the Owner Behind Harwood Plumbing & Heating in North Bay

When you call Harwood Plumbing & Heating, you are calling a family business that has been part of North Bay since 1991. Adam Harwood grew up here with the family name on the trucks. He joined the company in 2006 and bought it in 2023.

He did not walk into the job. His dad, Dennis, threw every dirty job he could at him, the crawl spaces, the sewage, the blocked sewers, because he did not want his son to be a plumber just because he was one. Adam came back every day with a smile. Eventually his dad agreed he was doing it because he liked it.

One customer whose heat went out during one of the coldest stretches of winter wrote that Adam took the time to troubleshoot the furnace with him directly, and called Harwood a company you can trust when things are stressful and time matters.

Plumbing and Heating in North Bay Since 1991

Dennis Harwood started the company in 1991. He had been working around the clock for another company, he had a young family at home, and he decided he was done giving up family time for something that was not his.

Adam came in through the Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program, with co op placements out of Chippewa. He apprenticed under the lead plumber who is still with Harwood today, then spent two years in Sudbury earning his gas and oil licences. From there he worked in the field on service calls and commercial maintenance. Around 2016 he moved into the front office and shadowed his dad to learn how that side ran.

Dennis is fully retired now, though Adam can still pick up the phone and ask him a question. His mom still runs the office. Maury has been with Harwood for more than thirty years. When Adam took over there were eleven people on the team. Today there are nineteen, sixteen in the field and three in the office.

What to Know Before You Hire a Plumber or Replace a Furnace in North Bay

North Bay runs on word of mouth, and Adam knows it. His caution is that a buddy of a buddy is not always the best way to go.

Where he sees people get burned is price. Customers call Harwood for a second opinion, and he has seen a furnace replacement he quoted at $6,500 sitting beside another quote of $11,000 for the same job, with no ductwork changes and nothing extra. Get a second quote, and make sure you are comparing the same work.

The other thing is showing up. If a contractor says Wednesday, they should be there Wednesday, or you should get a call. Adam has been hearing about a lot of no shows lately, and it is not how Harwood works.

Licensed Gas Fitters, Plumbers and HVAC Technicians on One Team

Harwood has licensed people for every part of the job: gas fitters, plumbers, sheet metal, refrigeration, backflow prevention and water treatment. Sheet metal is its own licence. Those are the people who build your ductwork.

Scheduling runs through booking software, and every Harwood vehicle carries GPS. That lets the office send the closest technician to your call, and it means the time on your invoice matches the time the truck was in your driveway.

The showroom was renovated recently and is smaller now, which made room for more parts on the shelf so your repair is not waiting on a delivery. What is still on display is fireplaces, because Adam believes you should see a fireplace running before you buy it. Pictures online do not do them justice. You will also find Delta and Riobel faucets. Harwood no longer sells or services hot tubs.

What Customers Say About Harwood Plumbing & Heating

The reviews come back to the same few things. The crew shows up on time, they are polite, and they clean up after themselves. The office is friendly and finds a way to fit you in. The price turns out to be what was quoted.

Adam would rather have an honest review than a generic one. Those are the kind he wants.

Furnace, Air Conditioning, Plumbing and Water Treatment Services in North Bay

The bread and butter is service: leaking taps, blocked sewers, no heat and no cooling. Harwood also installs and replaces furnaces, boilers, air conditioners, heat pumps, water heaters and gas fireplaces, works with natural gas and propane, and handles water testing, filtration and UV equipment. Emergency service is available 24 hours a day by phone.

If a new furnace or water heater is not in the budget, Harwood offers financing, leasing and rental equipment. Adam started pushing this because a furnace that quits in the middle of winter is a big, scary number, and a monthly payment is something more people can manage. You deal with a local company instead of a big one from out of town, and if it breaks, the people who installed it are the people who come to fix it.

For bathroom renovations, Adam often works alongside Kevin Turenne of Blue Sky Electrical & Construction. They both meet you at your home, walk the whole job, and each quotes you directly. Neither one works for the other. They have turned a couple of bathrooms around in four days because everything was organized ahead of time.

Commercial Plumbing and Heating in North Bay

Harwood serves homes and businesses. On the commercial side that means plumbing systems, heating and cooling equipment, rooftop units and maintenance, and every summer the crew takes on school projects, with three months of work to fit into two.

Adam is reshaping the company so each part of it has someone in charge. Karrie answers the phone and books your service call. Rick looks after residential heating and air conditioning quotes. Maury is taking over plumbing quotes, so when you call about a bathroom, he is the one who will come out. That leaves Adam on commercial work and the big projects.

A North Bay Family Business, Outside the Shop

This fall Adam is going moose hunting north of Thunder Bay with his dad and a few friends. They share the work and split the meat evenly. As a kid he spent four winters working for an ice fishing operator, running people out to the huts, checking holes and bringing minnows.

Back at the shop, Duke the Saint Bernard, known as the Harwood greeter, keeps an eye on things.

Harwood supports the community as Shriners, and the company is a proud supporter of the Hospital Walk Run every year.

What to Expect When You Call Harwood Plumbing & Heating

Call the office and a real person takes the details and books you in. For anything urgent, pick up the phone instead of using the website, because online requests are only read during office hours. A technician comes out, tells you what they found, and if something needs to be replaced, the right person follows up with a quote.

Adam's goal for Harwood is simple. When your tap is leaking, he does not want you to have to look up who to call. He wants Harwood Plumbing & Heating to already be the name in the back of your mind.